Live and Love
by Kittey Rin
Summary: Your average school girl. Reunited with an old friend, she makes an meets the new teacher. It's your basic love at first sight...right? Just being safe with the rating. Rated for language and hentai acts.
1. Chapter One: First Day

I heard my alarm go off. Groaning, I quickly stopped the noise and opened my eyes. I was confused. It took me a moment to remember that this was my uncle's house and not my cousin's.

After my family died in a car accident, I was sent from relative to relative, finally landing at my uncle's. House after house after house...and this was the worst of them all. I hated it here.

Granted, my family wasn't the closest. My mom was a big lawer's daughter who didn't believe in my dad's morals, if he even had any, and my dad's parents thought my mom a stuck up whore. One look at me by any of my relatives, and I was out the door faster than you can say 'What the fuck?' . Resulting factor, I got a room at my uncle's.

My room was plain, a dresser and a bed the only large objects. Almost everything I owned was black. I figured if I had to buy my own junk, I might as well get my favorite color. The only other color was on my guitar.

Drawing attention to its blood red color, it was my most prized possession.

Going to my dresser, I grabbed some clothing. I pulled on some very baggy, very ragged black jeans. The tee shirt that matched it was tight and exposed a little of my stomach. Next to go on was a black hoodie with a devil cat on the front, then my three rings, spike bracelet and chain necklace. The same clothing I had been wearing for a week -or was it two?- now. My uncle was making me buy my own laundry soap, on top of everything else I needed...screw the laundry soap. If I get any money, it's going to food, clothing, cd's...

Quickly pulling a brush through my black hair, I stuffed the whole mess into my hood Thank god for hoods. If i had to buy a hat on top of everything, I'd may well jump off the nearest building..

Grabbing my black headband from my bedside table, I wrapped it around my hand and wrist to look almost like I had sprained something. Fashion sense? Never heard of it. I wear what I want, when I want, even if it is ripped to shreads and stained with paint.

I knelt down next to my bed and fished out a battered old guitar case. Taking my guitar from its stand, I gently placed it in the velvet lining. Then, locking the case, I grabbed my backpack and opened my door.

Quietly tiptoeing a few feet from my room to the front door, I listened for my uncle. All that broke the eerie silence was a drunken snore.

'Good,' I thought to myself. My uncle had a drinking problem, and if anything upset him, he took it out on the first thing he saw. Which usually ended up being me.

Unlatching the door, I quietly crept outside and into the bright sunlight. "Freedom," I murmured. I had a feeling that I was going to like my new school. At least it wasn't this hell-hole.

With that encouraging thought in my head, I began the long trek to my newfound escape.

--Miroku's POV--

I slammed my locker shut after gathering my books. It was another day in the same routine of go to class, eat, more class, more eat, home and bed. Occasionally I would get lucky and get to actually do something fun.

"Hopefully they'll be done fixing my drums soon." Earlier in the week, my little brother broke the head on the snare. Actually, he wasn't my brother. More of a kid I took care of like a brother at the monastary where we both lived. I had just gotten done dropping it off a few days ago. Can you say procrastinator?

"Hey Miroku!" I recognized the lovely voice of my girlfriend, Sango. I turned and saw her running towards me, my other friends not that far behind.

"Hello my lovely dewdrop," I said, embracing her. The same thought crossed my mind again, as it did every time I saw her. 'Damn, she's hot.' Even though she always wore plaid miniskirts, fishnet stockings, lace up boots that went to her knees, tight shirts with different sayings and various spike jewelry, I never tired looking at her. That did not, of course, include the fact that her skirts offered me a chance to look at her creamy white legs whenever i chanced it.

"Hey!" Sango pulled out of the hug. "How many times do I have to tell you? Don't use pet names with me!"

"Yes, O great sun that brightens my days." Sango hit me over the head, but by now I was used to it.

"Will you two stop flirting?" Kagome, a good friend of mine and neighbor to Sango, walked up in the arms of her boyfriend, Inuyasha.

Kagome was more subtle in the way she dressed. She usually wore a light pink skirt with a lot of zippers (and also, very wide) and shirts similar to my cuddle bear's.

Inuyasha smirked. "Isn't it a little too early for this, Miroku?"

Me, Inuyasha and our other friend, Koga, always wore the same type of outfits; a large black hoodie over a black tee and overlarge black pants. We also had matching chain wallets. You may call it a little girly, but none of us gives a damn.

"It's never too early, Inu my boy!" I answered, using Inuyasha's nickname. "Right honey bunny?" My comment only earned me a trip to the newly waxed floor.

I heard laughing and looked up. The girl laughing, Kikyo, was wearing her favorite outfit: leather pants, a halter that ended shortly after her bust line and crisscrossed across her stomach and back, and platform flip-flops. Of course, everything was black.

"Hello, Kikyo." I stood up, dusting myself off.

"Well then, if you're done mopping the floor for us, can we go to class?" Kikyo walked over and gave her boyfriend, Koga, a peck on the cheek.

"I take extreme offense to that." I stuck my nose in the air, and began to walk towards my classroom. I had gone not even three feet before I wan into someone.

Because their hood was up, I couldn't see the student's face. But, using my superpowers of gender detection, I knew the person was female. (A/N: now, how hard was that?)

"I'm sorry, miss. A thousand apologies."

She got up. "Whatever." She walked off, not bothering to apologize to the many people she ran into.

"Someone's cranky." I looked for my friends, only to find that they were already halfway to class.

I scrambled into the classroom just as the final bell rang.

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I took my usual seat in history class, surrounded by all of my friends.

"Hey, Miroku," Inuyasha whispered to me from my left.

"Yah?"

"Did you finish the homework?"

"Did you?"

"No."

"Same."

"Shit. Know anyone who has?"

"Nope."

I then heard some more colorful language from my best friend, then began to take out the notes on Feudal Japan that we had been working on last class.

I really liked my teachers. For some unknown reason, I always ended up getting the nice and funny ones. My favorite teacher, 'Kaede', as all students called her for her resemblence to one of the fuedal miko we had been studying, taught my two favorite subjects, art and history. Even though she was getting up there in age, most people could talk to her and everyone had fun around her. She had the impeccable ability to make history un-boring and exciting.

"Okay class. Settle down, settle down. Miroku, we keep our hands to _ourselves_." I gave her an innocent look, ignoring the fact that Sango and Kagome were staring. I don't think Kikyo even cared, but she was off limits.

Everyone quieted down as Kaede stood in front of the room. Of course, as a procrastinator, I was still rummaging around for my lost notebook that had suddenly vanished into thin air and was unable to see the new girl standing alongside the history teacher.

"Now class, this is…" Kaede paused for a moment before continuing. "This is Rin Subarashii."

As soon as I heard the new girl's name, I looked up. It couldn't be her!

When I was younger, my best friend was named Rin Subarashii. But this gothic chick couldn't be the same cheery and innocent girl from back then. Right?

--Flashback--

"Hey, Subi!" I called to my best friend. I knew her name was Rin, but when I was a kid, I didn't know her first name, and I couldn't pronounce her last name very well. So, I called her Subi. It was the best I could do, seeing as I was never very good at names. "Wait up!"

"No!" she called. "This is a race, and you gotta catch up!"

I ran after the girl wearing a flowery sundress and pink gel sandals, my pudgy legs propelling me up the grassy slope. She ran ahead of me, quickly surpassing my snail-like pace. But, just like always, she stopped at the hill's peak and began to impatiently jump up and down, encouraging me to hurry up.

Even though she was the fastest kid on the block, and could easily outrun most of the teenagers in our neighborhood, she would lose any race just to be able to cross the finish line with me. That's how close we were as friends.

I was panting by the time I caught up to her. Subi allowed me a little time to get my breath back before claiming my hand and trotting with me to the park.

--Back to reality--

Kaede was just finishing telling Rin what was expected, where they were as far as class work, and then asked if she knew anyone.

Rin shook her head. I wasn't really expecting her to recognize me, because the last time we saw each other, I had a buzz-cut and was just beginning my diet. (A/N: Yes, Miroku was rollie-pollie back then! :P) Nowadays, I kept my shoulder-length hair in a ponytail, and I was now thin as a toothpick. Plus the fact that she moved after her fourteenth birthday, and I hadn't hit my teenage growth-spurts yet.

"That's okay, dear. Why don't you take one of the empty seats near Kanna or Kikyo?"

'Don't sit by Kanna!' I screamed to her in my head.

Kanna was a very odd girl. She never talked, and it was hard to provoke her. But before Rin moved, she obviously did something wrong, because she had Kanna on her tail like a mouse to cheese. Add that to the fact that Kanna holds grudges...

I shouldn't have worried my pretty little head off. Rin walked over and sat behind Kikyo, which was one desk back and one to the right behind me.

'Since Kaede gives us a break halfway through class, I'll see if Rin recognizes me.' Now all I had to do was wait for a half-hour or so…I hate waiting.

--Rin POV--

I didn't tell the truth when I told Mrs. Kaede I didn't know anyone. The truth was, I knew the girl sitting on the opposite side of the room.

Kanna was easy to spot, and I saw her right away when I entered the classroom. Being a short albino, you'd think she would be picked on and teased. Not her.

Kanna was quiet. Although, when picked on, she had a temper mean enough to rival the devil itself!

I had been gone only two years, yet now I felt like a complete stranger. Where was Miroku, my old friend that still probably lived at the Buddhist temple? What happened to make me feel like I wanted to crawl away and die? '_Oh, yah,_' I thought. '_My parents dragged me to America and then died on me. Not that they really cared about me before._'

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Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the bell rang. Mrs. Kaede was nice and all, but I felt like couldn't breathe. I wasn't used to staying in one class for over three hours. In America, we only had one period for an hour and a half. It seemed I would spend the next few weeks getting used to the long double periods.

When Mrs. Kaede had given us a break, I could hear the students whispering about me. It got to a point where I couldn't stand it, so I got permission to 'use the restroom' and wandered the halls for a good ten minutes.

I rushed into the hall, not caring if I ran into anyone. Many people got pissed when I knocked them down, but they weren't watching where I was coming. It was their fault.

I finally arrived at my locker and I quickly spun the combo. Checking to make sure my guitar was still in one piece -I would KILL a person if said person did anything to it, seeing as it was the only way I could make money and worth a lot because of the many inlays and expensive wood used- I tossed my books onto the top shelf and grabbed my lunch money. It was weird for me, having lunch around eleven. I was used to eating around one. Guess it was just another thing I had to add onto my list of things to get used to.

Just as I closed my locker, I heard my name being shouted by what seemed like at least four different people. As it turned out, it was one guy leading a group of about six towards me, and his voice was cracking slightly from running.

"Rin!" he shouted, and my mind registered '_You've already pointed out that little detail, so either get to the point or fuck off._'

"Who are you?" I asked politely, seeing as my escape route was conveniently cut off.

"One…sec…" he panted, clutching his knees and breathing heavily. Finally, having caught his breath, he plastered a large smile on his face and said "Rin." I inwardly groaned and thought '_YES, we have already ESTABLISHED that fact._' Oh, how hard it was for me to resist wiping away that stupid smile. "Don't you recognize me?" he stated after a slight pause.

"Cant say that I do." The more he said, the more I wanted to pummel him into the floor. Maybe drag him into one of the restrooms and flush his head down the toilet…? Tempting idea…

"I bet I can make you remember by just telling you a name." He had a mysterious look in his eye that worried me a little. Of course, having the instincts of someone who never backs away from a challenge, I accepted. Unfortunately, I also had a family history of momentary insanity.

"What's the bet?"

He looked around for a moment, and must have noticed that I had just enough money to get a sandwich and some milk. "Here. If you win, I buy you lunch, whatever you want. And if I win…little help guys?" he asked his friends behind him.

"She buys you lunch?" said a girl.

"A kiss?" said the other two guys simultaneously.

"She gives you a month of servitude?" suggested another girl.

"Don't look at me!" shouted a third girl, waving her hands in front of her and backing away slightly.

"Ok, I opt for the kiss. Deal?" He offered his hand, and I shook it. I dismissed the feeling that said I would end up beat red and kissing someone I had, seemingly, only just met.

"Alright. My name is Subi."

Alarms and lights started going off in my mind as I stood there, dumbfounded. Only one person had ever called me that. But how could it be him? Miroku used to be pudgy and slow, with short hair and a high squeaky voice. "M-Miroku?"

"Jeez, took you long enough." He smiled and I glared at him. "By the way, you lose."

I groaned, wishing he didn't know me so well. He knew just about every one of my secrets and wishes from when I was born to the beginning of seventh grade. So, needless to say, he knew I was easily embarrassed and didn't like showing signs of affection in public.

"I'm waiting," he commented, still smiling.

Lucky for me, everyone else besides his friends were at lunch, so that limited my embarrassment to be witnessed by only five people. Miroku didn't count; he wasn't worth my time right then. Leaning forward, and outwardly blushing, I quickly brushed my lips against his. Right away after, I dashed away, pushing through his wall of buddies. I could still feel the heat radiating off of my face as I raced to the cafeteria.

--Miroku POV--

I smiled as I saw her blush. Yes, I was aware that she would be very annoyed after this, but I wasn't paying attention to my awareness right now. Only her luscious lips. Much too fast for my taste, her beautiful lips brushed against mine. I immediately noticed that her lips were not moist like Kagome's, nor smooth like Kikyo's. I also happened to notice that they were not as full as my precious darling's.

As I noticed all of this, I didn't see her shove through my friends' barrier, nor my friends following soon after. Fortunately, no others saw me standing there like an idiot in front of a girl's locker. Just my luck for with my current reputation, rumors would have flown that I was mentally unbalanced.

"Damn!" I swore as all of this dawned on me. I started to run after them, calling all of my friends (plus Rin) over and over to wait.

As I wasn't watching where I was going, I tripped over something and fell flat on my face for the fourth time today, the previous three helped by the girls in history. I looked up as I heard someone giggle, and saw Sango. Then I remembered how we met.

--Flashback--

I was so late! '_Shit shit shit, and on the first day of school, too,_' I thought as I swore aloud.

It was the first day of ninth grade, a year after my best friend moved to some unknown town. I was remembering how she looked -had it only been a year? Seemed much longer- as I clung to the fading details. Oh, how I wished I could see her again. I was so absorbed that I didn't notice the rabbit hole, and as a consequence, I tripped and fell face-first into the dirt, scattering my books and papers.

"Dammit!" I screamed into the cold and uncomfortably solid earth. I heard giggling, and looked up.

I could've sworn that the giggling girl was an angel; A black angel, but an angel nonetheless. She wore fishnets, a plaid miniskirt, a shirt that showed a wonderful figure that wore a lot of jewelry.

"I'm sorry for laughing," she said after calming down a little. "It's just, you were so cute when you fell over!" She knelt down and offered her hand to help me up. "I'm Sango."

--Back on the floor in the hallway outside the cafeteria--

Sango raised one of her eyebrows, still smiling. "Why are you staring at me?" Her smile soon became a scowl. "What are you thinking?"

I smiled. "I was just thinking of that fateful morning one year, six months, three days, four hours and twenty-seven minutes ago when we first met."

"And now I'm regretting that I ever met you." Sango was wearing an expression that began to worry me.

"C'mon, you don't really mean that. Do you?" I didn't bother trying to keep the fear from my voice.

"Yes, I do." Her eyes began to dance with amusement. She said something else, but I wasn't paying attention. I was too shocked to find that my squishy angel-darling regretted our fateful meaning. It was fate, damn it! She was obviously annoyed, because by the time I was out of my stupor she was already walking through the cafeteria doors.

"Where are you going? You didn't _really_ mean it, right?" I struggled to rise, which was made difficult, as I kept tripping over my pants.

"I'm going to find your friend. You don't want her hanging with Naraku, do you?"

I mumbled no and watched as she walked up to Rin.

-------------------------------End Chapter-------------------------------

Any suggestions? Comments? Questions?

--Kittey Rin


	2. Chapter Two: New faces in town

-Sango POV-

'_If Miroku isn't going to get her, then I will_,' I resolved.

As I was walking towards the cashier, where I knew Rin would be currently, I got to hum my favorite tune to play on the piano. It was slow, yes, but it was also very beautiful. As I was humming, my fingers played imaginary keys on my thighs.

I was soon able to see Rin. She was just finishing checking out, so I knew that I had made perfect timing.

"Hey," I said as she began to walk towards the sea of tables.

She spun around and gave me a look that resembled a rabbit cornered by a hungry fox. Which reminded me, I needed to pick up some chicken before I got home.

"What?" she asked warily.

"Would you like to sit with my friends and me?" I suggested. "We kinda have a weird system where unless you have friends or are invited to sit somewhere then you're shunned," I told her when she gave me a questioning glance.

"Umm, sure," she said somewhat reluctantly.

I began to lead her toward where the others sat, hidden away in a somewhat dark corner. We chose that place because it was easier for the other people to ignore us, and us, them. Plus it was quiet, since most everyone else sat near the doors and lunch line. It also helped that we didn't get run over in the mad rush to get to class before the last bell rang.

As we neared the table, I could hear Miroku launching his usual complaints about the school food. They weren't that far off, either. After all, everyone knows about the 'mystery meat'.

"Hey guys." I stood next to my seat between my boyfriend and Kikyo. I could feel Rin trying desperately to blend into the shadows, so I pulled her forward. "Rin, I'd like you to meet my friends. The one with the hoodie on currently, which isn't _allowed_, is Inuyasha. The one with the long black hair in a pony tail is Koga. Kikyo wears all leather, and Kagome is sitting next to Kikyo," I told her while introducing around the circle. "You already know Miroku. At least, I hope you do."

Rin acknowledged each person but Miroku, so I guessed she was still hung up about the kiss earlier. Hell, even _I_ would be. And I'm his girlfriend!

Rin sighed and I offered her a seat between Kikyo and me. "Thank you," she said, sitting.

We began eating in silence, when Miroku got up, went to the wall, and started to slam his head against it repeatedly.

"Miroku, what the hell are you doing?" Rin inquired, surprised.

"Percussion with-drawl." Rin started to stare at me, waiting for me to go on. "When he hasn't played his drums for a while, he gets all weird and starts to do crazy things. This is the most common thing he does during lunch. If you look at other various places on the walls, you will see many other dents. Lucky for us, he gets them back this afternoon."

I heard Miroku muttering "Too long, too long, too long..." Funny, it was in constant synch with his head hitting the wall.

Rin nodded, and then jumped when she heard a thump. Looking to where Miroku was only moments before, she couldn't see him. When she looked to the floor, she nodded and sat back.

'_He's done it again_,' I thought. '_Gone and knocked himself out_.'

After a few minutes in which Rin got acquainted with the crowd, the bell rang.

-Kikyo POV-

As the bell rang, I got up to dump my tray. Koga got there first.

I smiled as I once again discovered how sweet he could be. He was a real gentleman, doing small things like holding the door open or helping me across the street. Sometimes it's the small things in life you treasure most. At least, it's true for me. It occured to me how lucky I was; guys like Koga were a dying species.

Unfortunately, not all men are like him. I had a first-hand experience with one of those men. You know, the ones who think they're all superior and such and only think women are there as play things? There the ones.

-Flashback-

As I walked to my locker after lunch, I noticed a man standing in front of it. He gave the air of someone just casually standing there, but I knew better. He was the one who had followed me home and tried to feel me up the other day, although he was behind a mask both times. I would know those cold auburn eyes anywhere. Thankfully, as I neared, he moved over so that I could get to my combination lock.

I dialed the combo and pulled it open. Not wanting to stay near him any longer, I grabbed my stuff and quickly shut my locker door, locking it in the process. His eyes traveled along my body while I was doing this, and were currently locked on my chest.

"Hey cutie," he began, his gaze still on my bosom. "What say you and me go to the club tonight?" He swaggered towards me, staggering like a drunken man.

"First off, my eyes are up here." I waited as he looked up, glaring. "Second, I don't date slime."

"C'mon, you know you want to."

"No," I told him firmly, and began to walk away. '_I'm gonna be late!_' The halls were almost completely empty by this time.

He grabbed my arm, which surprised me. I stumbled, fell, and because he wouldn't let my arm go, I almost pulled my arm out of its socket.

"No one refuses me!" As he spoke, his spit hit my face and I moved as far as I could from his mouth, disgusted.

My arm was beginning to go numb. "You're hurting me!" I screamed. He wouldn't let go, and so I did the first thing to come to mind; Knee to the groin.

He doubled over and I pulled my arm free. Not waiting to see if he was alright or if he would give chase, I turned and fled to my house, not caring if I did miss the rest of my classes. Nothing they said would get me back into school for the rest of the day.

- A few days later -

I ran down the hallway, panting. Ever since I had refused to date that dumb bastard, Naraku, as I found out later, he had attempted to force me into submission after school every day. Today was no different.

I turned the corner, only to come up at a dead end. '_I really need to learn the layout better. A year here and not knowing the layout is just pathetic._' I spun just as Naraku cut off the entrance to the dank, dark and never used hallway. I had never been down this way, but I could tell it hadn't had much traffic for a while from the cobwebs around me and various insects fleeing Naraku's feet as he walked toward me.

My heart began to race, and not in a good way. I tried to run past him when he came closer, but he blocked my exit. Grabbing my wrist, he slammed me into the wall. I lost my breath and slid to the ground. Naraku took this opportunity to grab my other hand and hold them together, pinning them above my head. He also knelt on my knees, making it impossible to kick him off me.

He smirked at me, and then pressed his mouth against mine. I began to struggle, and he ran his tongue along my teeth. I kept my own teeth clenched. It disgusted me to think of how much toothpaste I would go through when I got home. He tasted disgusting, like the nasty kind of cough syrup on burnt toast.

He was getting more and more pissed, for he began to growl and nip at my bottom lip. I still refused to open my mouth.

This went on for a few minutes, as his free hand began to stroke my chest and stomach. I began to struggle even harder, and gasped when his hand went around my back and he squeezed my ass.

His tongue dove into my mouth and I gagged. In response, I did the first thing that came into mind. I bit down. Hard.

I tasted blood as he lurched back. I allowed myself a second of glory before screaming bloody murder.

"Shut up, wench!" Naraku's back hand connected with my cheek. "Don't scream, or you'll regret it."

I was a little surprised for that was the first time I had ever been slapped. I was frozen as he began to shred my shirt with a knife that he picked up somewhere. Little nicks from where his knife had connected with my flesh began to sting. He didn't notice, or didn't care, as he began to dig his knife in further and further into my flesh.

I finally shook off my paralysis. I screamed again, tears beginning to cloud my vision. I screamed for all I was worth, ignoring the pain when he beat me and when my injuries began to burn.

This torture kept up until Naraku was ripped off from on top of me. I whimpered as all the pain I had been ignoring came back full blast. I curled into a ball and began to shake, trying to hold in sobs that wanted release.

I heard two men exchanging words, but I didn't bother to pay attention. I did flinch when I heard a crack, some swearing and fleeing footsteps. I became frightened as the man I believed to be Naraku came towards me.

I was surprised when a large shirt was set on top of my curled figure. Looking up, I saw a shadow that was not Naraku. This man was slimmer, and didn't have as broad shoulders as Naraku did. He knelt, and I noticed that he was 'all legs', as my mother used to say.

"Are you alright, miss?" The stranger's crisp tenor voice was sweet and full of concern.

I nodded shyly, but when he didn't say anything or move, I noticed that it was a lot darker than I thought. "I think, yes."

"Alright. Do you need a ride or anything? Or would you prefer I get someone else?"

I thought for a moment. "I guess I really don't care." I shakily stood up and my savior turned around. "What?"

"Umm…you might want to put on my shirt."

I looked down and flushed. I hadn't paid attention to how much my clothing had been ruined by Naraku. Looking, I realized I might have been better off not wearing anything.

My shirt was completely torn, just rags hanging off my pale and bleeding body. My shorts were no better. As for my undergarments... No wonder he had turned around.

I decided to survey the damage to my body, and whistled softly. It was worse than I had thought. If I wasn't in so much pain or terrified like hell, I would've been impressed. He really did a number on me.

I quickly picked up the red and black plaid shirt that had fallen to the ground when I stood up and put it on. Thankfully, the stranger was tall enough so that his shirt could've been a really short dress on me. Tall men were hard to come by. Another point for the hero.

I quietly padded my way to the man and touched his shoulder. He turned and I said "Thank you. For saving me and lending me your shirt."

"Oh, it's nothing. I didn't really like that shirt anyways. And that guy was being a total jerk." He looked down at the bundle of rags in my arms. "Are those completely destroyed or can you repair them?"

I sighed and looked down. "No, they're basically strips of material now." I walked past him and threw them into the garbage. Turning, I told him "I never really liked them anyway."

He smiled and walked towards me. We began to trek to the nearest exit. I hadn't realized how late it was until I saw the giant clock across the street. "Damn."

"What is it?" I looked at him just as he looked at me. We both looked away and I could feel my face beginning to warm up.

"Nothing." '_What's going on with me?_' I asked myself. '_Someone saves you and you go all gaga over him._' I snuck a look at him and began to drink in his appearence.

He was tall, and about half of his body was taken up by his legs. His clean cut face was soft and kind. He had lush black hair, which he currently wore in a low pony tail. Without his shirt on, for I was still wearing it, I noticed a slight muscle definition in his upper arms. His chest was as if it was chiseled from granite and polished to perfection, shining with sweat on this hot day. I kept looking him over, and wondered that familiar question that every girl questions when faced with a hot guy of 'is his ass as firm as it looks'.

"You know," he began, making me jump. "It really isn't nice to check out someone whose name you don't even know." That made me blush even deeper (if that was possible) and I turned away.

We walked in silence the rest of the way to my apartment. When I got to my door, I remembered that, in my rush to escape Naraku earlier, I had left my keys in my locker. Along with my homework, money, Sango's parking pass... "Damn, damn, double damn," I said, repeating my favorite line from Hocus Pocus.

"What is it?" I jumped at his voice, momentarily forgetting he was there.

"I forgot my key." I knocked on the door.

"Isn't it empty?"

In answer, the door swung open to reveal my roommate, Sango. She was wearing rumpled flannel pajama pants, and an equally wrinkled tank top. "You forgot your key, didn't you?"

"Yeah." I shuffled my foot, waiting for her to move.

"Again? What am I gonna do with you." She looked past me. She turned a suspicious look onto me. "Who's he? What happened to your clothes? Do I even _want_ to know?"

"Yes, you want to know. I was attacked, my clothes are in the garbage at school, and this is…." I paused as I realized I didn't know my hero's name. _Wonderful first impression, girl,_ I berated myself.

"Koga. Nice to meet you." He offered his hand to Sango.

"And I'm Sango." She took the offered hand. "Looks like I'll be seeing you in school later, right?" Koga nodded, and she turned to me."If you'll excuse us, Kikyo and I have a long talk ahead of us."

She moved inside, and I began to follow. "Bye."

"W-wait," Koga said. I stopped and turned around, the door already halfway closed. "W-would you like to go to a movie tomorrow?" I smiled when he began to turn crimson. _Who knew that even the _hero_ could stutter_.

"Sure. Six okay?" He nodded and I closed the door, much happier than I was earlier.

I turned around to face the storm, also known as Sango. "Begin at the beginning, when I left you after third period." I sighed, resigning to my fate, and began the tale.

-Sitting at the table in the lunch room-

After that, Naraku left me alone, except for a few curses directed in my direction. I guess he didn't want me to tell anyone about the incident. Unfortunately for him, I told the counciler. But because of the shitty school system being too afraid of Bakayarou Onigumo, Naraku's father and superintendent to our school district, the school didn't do anything.

Koga and I went out every week after that, and became closer and closer. Soon, we labeled ourselves as official. I met Inuyasha through Koga. I was shocked to find out that Inuyasha and Koga both used to live in the same foster home. Koga and Inuyasha were able to meet Sango through me. We all met Miroku when he moved here and fell for Sango last year. Kagome became my friend, too, when she moved here about a month later and got in a fight with Inuyasha. It was the funniest thing to watch, standing in the hall that day.

"What's up?" I stood, grabbed my bag, and turned to face Koga.

"Nothing. Just remembering stuff." He gave me a look, and I knew that he knew I had just remembered the earlier 'Naraku days'. I grabbed his hand and started to pull him out of the cafeteria, into the crowded hallways. "C'mon, we haveta get to math." He nodded, and we made our way to the classroom.

-In class-

We got to class, and it was my turn to sit in the middle of a clump of desks in the back of the math room.

"What's with the sitting-in-a-group-in-the-back-every-class thing?" asked the, as we were to find out, always curious Rin.

"Oh, that?" Kagome sat down behind me, next to Inuyasha. "It's just something that happened. One day we all just started to sit in a group, and we chose the back because none of us like to be in the spotlight with our teachers. Its been proven that you can get away with more and are more likely to be ignored in the back than anywhere else in the classroom," Kagome recited with an air of a know-it-all.

"And the fact that YOU can't stand to be away from Inuyasha for long." Koga, who had sat in front of me, turned to Rin. "They nearly die from separation anxiety during the weekend, even though we always hang out together."

"Hey! Same with you and Kikyo!" Kagome accused us.

"Yah, and Miroku and Sango are worse," I shot back.

"We are not!" Sango defended.

"Yes you are!"

"Are not!"

"Are too."

"Are not!"

"Are too."

"Are not!"

"Are too."

"Shut up." Sango and I turned our glares onto Miroku. "What? I'm trying to tell Rin about our band!"

I changed my glare to a pout. "But Sango and I were having an intelligent argument! You're no fun."

"That was intelligent?" I heard Rin mutter.

Miroku cleared his throat. "As I was _saying_," he paused and shot a glare at Sango and me. "We have a small band and get together to practice whenever we can. We don't have a name, we play crappy songs we wrote ourselves and we have never had any gigs."

"Great description," Inuyasha said sarcastically. Koga hit Miroku on the head, and Sango scolded Koga about delivering brain damage to her boyfriend.

"Wow!" Rin's eyes went to the size of saucers. "Even though you haven't had any jobs, have no name and play stupid songs, still, wow!" Miroku loudly protested that their songs weren't stupid, just crappy. No one paid him any mind. "Can I come over and try a few of your songs?"

"You can play?" Koga looked at Miroku, who was still fussing about our songs. "She can play?"

"Yah." Miroku plastered an innocent expression on his face. "Must've slipped my mind."

"What can you play?" Sango inquired.

"Oh, lots of things." Rin began to count off on her fingers as she listed what she was able to play. "Drums, keys, guitar, bass, violin, steel guitar, and I sing some, too. What do you play?" she asked us in turn.

"Drums." Miroku raised his hand.

"Bass," Koga added.

"Lead," Inuyasha put in.

"A little of everything, but I like to stick with the piano." Sango winked at Rin.

"Kag and I do vocals sometimes," I said. "Otherwise we handle, as Inuyasha puts it, 'all of that impossible technology shit'."

Inuyasha blushed. "You can come over tonight to Koga's. Sure he wouldn't mind."

"Really?" Rin looked at Koga and squealed when he nodded, causing ninety percent of the class to stare the new-kid-that-will-most-likely-cause-deafness-later-in-the-year.

-Inuyasha's POV-

Rin really needed to settle down. It was five minutes after she was told that she could come with us to practice at Koga's, and she was still hyper. It was a miracle we weren't getting calls from people across town telling her to shut the hell up!

I had just put my head on the desk when the door slammed, causing me to jump. Looking up, I saw a tall man around six feet with long, flowing hair that would make any girl jealous -or guy, for that matter, walk in. He was wearing khaki pants and had his light blue button shirt open just enough to reveal a well toned chest. I couldn't believe my eyes!

How the hell did he get a job here? When? Why? I mean, I knew he was becoming a teacher, but I didn't know he lived so close to here. If I had known, I would've moved away and stayed away. Damn him. I just knew he would make my life hell while he was here. Maybe it wasn't too late to catch the one o' clock train...?

I looked to see the reactions of my friends to our new teacher. Rin and Kikyo were off in lala land. Kikyo was understandable. After all, even though she and Koga were an item, that didn't stop Kikyo from looking at any and all guys that caught her eye. I heard Koga growl. Looks like he noticed, too.

Rin, though, was different. From what Miroku told me in the ten or so minutes that the girls were in the bathroom earlier, Rin was a shy, moody girl that wasn't easily influenced by a guys looks. She usually, according to my _dear_ friend Miroku, waited until she knew about the guy more than just name and age. Also, to the extent of my knowledge, she had never had a boyfriend.

Shifting my eyes to Koga, I saw that he wore a scowl on his face. That was probably because Kikyo had begun to drool.

Moving along, Miroku and Sango were pretty indifferent. Kagome looked just about as surprised as I felt.

Well, maybe that's because she knew him like I did. After all, she'd met my brother before.

Cold eyes met cold eyes as my brother looked my way. I narrowed my eyes in disgust. The look on his face told me the feeling was mutual. After all, we never did really get along. We never saw each other, even when our mothers got together.

"Shut up, sit down and listen." Everyone who was talking shut up, and everyone standing sat down. You could feel the tension coating the surfaces of everything. Even just meeting him, most of the class could already tell that my brother was not one to cross. "Good."

"As you probably know, I am the new math teacher. My name is Mr. Youkai." My brother turned and sloppily wrote his name on the blackboard. "You may NOT call me Youkai, Mr. Y, Teach, or my favorite, 'Hey teacher person'." Everyone nodded, and there were a few nervous laughs. "Good. Now, as I do roll call, you say 'here' AND raise your hand."

Yup. Welcome to High School Hell.

-

Any comments? Questions? Suggestions? Please review!


	3. Chapter Three: Getting to Play

Disclaimer: I do NOT own anything from Inuyasha except this fanfic using Rumiko's characters. THIS IS THE ONLY TIME I WILL SAY THIS!

A/N: Some of this chapter, most, actually, was written by my friend. I take no credit for coming up with anything in this chapter except for the Unknown POV and Inu-kun's POV. That credit goes to a wonderful poet and writer. Thanks!

Koga's POV-

The last block of the day, science, passed uneventfully. We had all made plans to meet at my place after school and invited Rin along. I noticed that Inuyasha and Miroku had been tense with the new math teacher.

Miroku was understandable. The new teacher was handsome and Sango had a roving eye for boys. But what was Inuyasha's problem?

Rin had been acting strange, too. What was going on?

"Koga?" Kagome started, pulling me out of my sea of thoughts. "How is Rin gonna get to your house? She hasn't got a ride."

Miroku hit himself on the head. "Duh. We've only got three bikes. How're we gonna do this?"

"What are you talking about?" Rin interrupted.

"Me, Inuyasha and Sango all have motorcycles," I explained. "So, we double up. But now, you don't have a ride."

Rin proudly struggled to hide her disappointment. "That's okay. You can go on without me."

Miroku, grinning from ear to ear, slung an arm around her shoulders. "Don't be stupid, Rin. I remember how fast you are. I'll bet if you Rin and we go slow, you can keep up. Come on. I'll bet you, say, another kiss?"

Here, Sango butted in.

"Oh no you don't, lover-boy. You're _my_ boyfriend, remember?"

Miroku peeled himself away from Rin to give Sango a kiss. "Right indeed, my lovely flower of joy. But surely you can allow a fellow a simple sporting wager? I don't really think she'd make it. She's not actually that fast."

Rin snorted. "I like that. I was _always_ faster than you."

Miroku's eyebrows were raised a bit too perfectly. I began to think something was up.

"If that's the case, Rin, why don't you take the bet?" he asked.

"Fine, I will. I bet that I'll make it. If I do, Miroku does my homework. If I don't, I'll give him a kiss." She held out a hand, but Miroku shook his head.

"As my perfect angel has pointed out, I have a girlfriend. I can get all the kisses I want from her."

Sango punched him. "Not with that attitude, bud!"

Miroku ignored her. "I say we change it to ah, Mr. Youkai instead."

Kagome gasped. Even I was shocked. Miroku never made a bet he couldn't win. Slow for us was sixty miles per hour, which is how Miroku lost his license in the first place. That's also how Sango got her bike.

There was no way Rin could make it, which meant she was almost guaranteed to have to kiss our new math teacher. Of course, that all depended on if she even _took_ the bet.

Rin was considering it, gnawing on her lip. I held my breath.

Finally she came to a decision. "Miroku, you have yourself a deal."

Rin POV-

After I got directions I watched them get on their bikes. Miroku was smart. He was almost guaranteed to win.

Except I have no intention of playing by the rules. If ever a man had to watch out for something, it was a woman determined to win a bet.

I wandered over to a boy's car. I could still hear Miroku and the other's talking.

"Where is she going?"

Miroku laughed. "Maybe she's looking for an excuse to kiss him?"

The others laughed at his little joke.

"Rin, we're leaving! Inuyasha called. I waved at them as though I was thinking about something else. As they rode away, I leaned on the car door and spoke through the open window to the driver.

"Hey," I said, smiling.

The boy inside looked at me, his eyes stopping at my chest.

"Hey," he replied, his voice cracking a bit.

I leaned closer. "I'm Rin." He licked his lips.

"Hi. I'm Katsuya. Do you want something?"

Lowering my eyelids, I practically purred my next sentence. "Oh yes. I'm new here and I could use a ride home."

I could just hear his thoughts. _A ride home? I bet she doesn't have a boyfriend yet! SCORE!_

"I can give you a ride if you tell me where you live. Hop in."

I did so, brushing his leg a bit more then necessary.

"Sure. Could you go a bit fast? If we hurry, we can beat my parents." _Nothing wrong in a little white lie to beat the others_, I thought.

He looked surprised. The look remained on his face as I gave him directions to "my" house.

As we drove away, a cunning look replaced it. I was worried, but there was nothing I could do.

Katsuya was speeding down the road at about seventy miles, but a few blocks from Koga's he slowed to a stop.

"Why are we stopping?" I asked, dropping my act. I had a good idea of what we planned. Hell, we had been warned every year since we started school of what happens to little girls that get into a strange man's car. I was not going to comply.

"Your parents won't mind if you're a bit late." He reached for my shirt.

I punched him in the face. While he was recovering, I stumbled from the car and raced off, calling over my shoulder "Thanks for the ride, Perv!"

He didn't follow.

By the time I got to Koga's, I was breathing hard. Everyone was sitting on the porch, waiting for me. Kagome waved wildly.

"Rin! Rin! Wow, you _are_ fast! We only got here two minutes ago! How'd you do it?"

Unwillingly, I started to cry.

Everyone started toward me. I stumbled, landed on my knees and ripped my pants.

"Are you alright? What's wrong?"

Everyone was clamoring. Miroku knelt beside me.

"Rin, you don't really have to kiss him if you don't want to!" he told me frantically. I shook my head.

"No," was all I could choke out.

Someone whacked my between my shoulder blades, effectively stopping my hyperventilation and making me cough.

Imagining the sight we make, seven teenagers crouched in the dirt, coughing, choking and yelling, made me laugh. I fell over onto my side.

Soon everyone was laughing at nothing in particular. I calmed a little, but thinking of the picture we were making right then got me started again.

Finally, Kikyo stopped. "What was wrong?" she asked.

I wiped tears from my face. "It's nothing." I told them.

"Rin…." Miroku said warningly.

"I said it's nothing, okay?"

Everyone gave me a disbelieving look. I hurriedly looked for something to say.

"I guess I lost the bet, huh?"

Miroku began to laugh again while everyone else either followed suit or shifted uncomfortably. "Yeah, you did. Which means you get to kiss Mr. Youkai!"

I blushed scarlet. Inuyasha growled and I looked at him.

"Damn Sesshomaru. I can't believe he'd come back, much less as a teacher." I looked at him blankly. He started to explain. "Sesshomaru –Mr. Youkai- is my brother. Half brother, really, and a total jackass." I wasn't sure what to say.

"Do I still have to kiss him, then?"

Koga nodded. "Yes. A bet's a bet, no matter whose brother he is. Come on, let's go inside."

We all followed as he led the way into his house.

Unknown POV-

I threw another dart into a group picture. The dart landed right in the eye of a certain blue-eyed, black-haired pretty boy.

Getting up off the mattress that I was laying on, I walked over to the wall.

My room was a second rate hotel room in a run-down building. Nobody lived here anymore except me and the boys. If you were to walk by, you probably would wonder when this place would be torn down. Yes, there were rats. Yes, there were cockroaches. Yes, there was every single type of damned insect and rodent ever to come across this god-forsaken piece of shit. But it wouldn't be torn down. No, never torn down. I owned it, after all.

My mind wandered back to the picture on the door. I spat on the part that was Koga trying to make a basket. His equally annoying as hell best friend, Inuyasha, was getting ready to jump up and knock down the ball. The other-Mikiro, Mikuro, Mi something- was smiling in the background. Gods, how I hated that lecherous smile, that same one that stole MY Sango from me.

Flashback to the First day of Ninth Grade-

I was walking to school to go to the same grade that I had been repeating with my friends for the past two years. I began thinking that I should just drop this fucked up school and go work at Naraku's step-father's second cousin's niece's boy-friend's best friend's garage. At least then I would be working for someone closer to my age then having to answer to some stupid, wrinkled, post menopausal-inflicted, women old enough to be my great-grandmas.

I was shocked out of my thoughts when some bastard ran into me. I snarled and looked to see who it was. My mistake; it was Sango.

I could feel myself getting hotter. Damn, that bitch was hot. I always had a thing for her, but she always had an excuse to run away from my attempts. My anger started to spike at thinking about her and her stupid roommate, Kikyo. Kikyo was always within calling distance of Sango. Kikyo always had some plans that conflicted with me attempts at asking Sango out. Kikyo, Kikyo, Kikyo!

I wanted to strangle the bitch, just wrap my hands around her soft, milky white neck and squeeze the life out of her! The only thing stopping me was Naraku. One of these days, though, Naraku would be distracted and the bitch would be alone. Then…

I looked at Sango again. It took me a moment to see that she was alone. _Wait a minute, she's ALONE!_

The fates seemed to be smiling on me today. I walked over to her. Just a little more, just a little more…but then HE had to go and PURPOSEDLY trip and FALL!

There went my only chance. When I got to school, I stalked someone and used them to take out my anger. Damn Naraku. Damn Kikyo. DAMNED MIROKU!

End flashback-

One of these days, I swore I would get my revenge. One of these days.

Pulling the darts out of the wall, I walked back over to the mattress. There was nothing else to do, and so I started to throw my darts again.

While throwing them, I remembered that I really needed to get my older brother to get another picture of them. The one that was hanging up was becoming less and less distinguishable. By now Koga's head was ripped to shreds as well as his lower region. Inuyasha was no better. Miroku, however…all that was left of him was his fancy hair.

Oh, how I wanted his hair. Then I would be able to get Sango. Not just Sango, but any girl I wanted! All the girls would flock to me, lining the pothole-filled street that I lived on.

The door opened right as I threw the last dart. I smirked as my brother dodged the missile.

"Jeez. Can you get anymore damned dangerous? You almost took my eye out!" he growled out.

I shrugged. "Your loss, my gain." I closed my eyes against the light that poured in when my brother had opened the door.

"Yeah, yeah. Get your ass up. It's time to go." He turned heel and walked out the door, slamming it behind him.

I let out a snort of laughter. My brother was always the one to lose his temper. Even if he WAS the better looking of us both, what with his long, silky hair…I curbed my jealousy, lest he find out and order his goons to do me away.

Grabbing my weapon of choice, a knife on the floor next to my 'bed', I heaved myself up and shuffled out the door, preparing for another night of pain and bloodshed.

Inuyasha POV-

After greeting Mrs. Wolf and introducing Rin, we made our way down to the basement. I heard Rin gasp as Koga's 'studio' was revealed. Funny, it was the same response I had made.

Koga's basement was completely re-done as soon as he had moved here. His mother hadn't cared, as long as he didn't completely ruin the house or used any of her money. Recording gear in one corner, instruments in the opposite, music, records and the like strewn about like a rats den. An actual stage, purchased just a few months ago, was in the corner opposite the recording gear for better sound. He had also recently purchased surround-sound speakers from the local store for a good deal. Koga was always one for bargaining; he was better than the girls when it came to hunting down cheap prices. I felt really bad for him. Because of his knack for sniffing out deals, the girls _always_ took him with them when they migrated to the local mall.

"Are you just gonna stand there and gape, or do you actually want to play?" Koga asked a wide-eyed, open mouthed Rin.

"How'd you get all this?" Rin set her pack down as the others and I began to set up the drum set.

"Any money he gets," I started to explain, "goes out the door to a musical instrument, something for one of his laptops," I nodded at the three small computers over by the recording set, "or to actual music to play." I felt a glare on the back of my neck and quickly changed tactics. "Excuse me, any money that he gets that isn't already reserved for his lovely _Kikyo_." I dodged a few pencils and notebooks until Kikyo told Koga to stop. "Listen to your girlfriend, Koga. It's a miracle she's still with you."

I seemed to hit a sore spot with Kikyo, because she began to chase me around claiming that she would have my hide and make it into a fur coat. How she came up with that, I'll never know.

"Come on, guys, that's enough," Kagome scolded us.

I turned to give Sango a hand with her keyboard, as Miroku was still fiddling with the cymbals. I smiled as I heard his trademark curses and insults to the equipment. I never knew any person to have such a…broad vocabulary.

Finally getting Sango situated, I pulled out my black guitar as Koga pulled out his midnight blue bass. Koga's was a really old electric bass that he had ever since he could remember. It was the kind that had a glittery background, and it, truthfully, made me sick.

Mine, however, was pure black. Well, where you could actually see it. I had only had my guitar for little over a year, and already I was running out of space. Stuck on my guitar was every sort of bumper sticker, printed out picture and window clings that I was able to get my hands on in the past six months. Because of that, it was quickly becoming known as 'the Billboard' for reasons that my friends refuse to indulge.

Kagome and Kikyo wandered back to the recording zone. It used to be that any of us could go back there, but ever since I allowed a virus onto one of the computers some twelve or so weeks ago, only Kagome, Kikyo and Koga were allowed back there. I found that really unfair. I mean, is it _my _fault that any computer within two feet of me crashes?

I heard Rin open her guitar case, and snuck a glance. She brought out a blood red six string electric guitar in mint condition. I let out a low whistle. It had to have been pretty old, and in that condition, taken care of with loving care.

"Hey, Rin," Koga called from where he stood on the stage. Sango stood opposite him, and Miroku was already twirling his drumsticks from where he sat. I jumped onto the stage and began to plug in my guitar. Kagome and Kikyo followed me, adjusting the microphones. "Can you play this?"

Rin walked over and looked at the noted written on Koga's notepad.

I could see her doing the same thing I did when I got a new piece when I looked at her fingers. We both pretended to play our guitars. Coincidence? I think so.

The song was a familiar one that all of us had written. Actually, us guys plus Sango had started the melody, and Koga wrote the rest. I came up with the lyrics one day in the middle of a test, in Language Arts, and I jumped up and screamed 'I GOT IT!'. That landed me into a week's worth of detention.

"Yup, I think," Rin said.

"Okay, do you wanna try it out? Just concentrate on playing." Sango glared at Koga, then said "Only the guys sing this one."

"Why?"

"'Cause we're special, that's why!" Miroku said with a laugh, straightening from leaning on the snare.

"Seriously?" Rin gave him a disbelieving look.

"No, but you'll see" With that, everyone scrambled into position.

And then, we played.

* * *

End Chapter

* * *

Any comments? Questions? Suggestions? 


	4. Chapter Four: Sappy Confessions

A/N: I would like to again give credit to my friend. About half this chapter was written by her.

* * *

Inuyasha POV

"Wow," Rin said as soon as the song ended. "You guys wrote this?" She asked with awe.

"Yup." I said, putting down my guitar and sitting on the edge of the stage.

"Wow. You play like a demon!" She exclaimed. I beamed.

"More like a half-demon. Inuyasha lacks the sheer coolness to be a full demon," Sango said. Everyone else laughed outright, effectively dampening my mood.

"Who did you write it for?" Rin asked innocently.

She was smart, too. Not many people would assume that just because we sang a fast-paced love song that it was automatically written for someone. Or was it, when someone wrote _any_ love song that it _was_ automatically for someone? I was so confused…but the fact was, she was right.

It had taken Koga and Sango two days to figure out that I had based the lyrics on my feelings for Kagome. Kikyo was even faster, cornering me about it not even fifteen minutes after we finished composing it. Miroku, being a natural procrastinator, took about a month to figure it out. Kagome, in my utter brilliance and talent at keeping secrets, still hadn't figured it out. I didn't want her to because I would feel exceedingly embarrassed. I was still very reluctant to show my feelings in public. Even after we'd been dating for as long as we had….

"Umm…" I started, trying to avoid the subject.

"Kagome," Sango, Kikyo, Miroku and Koga said in unison. I glared at them, blushing slightly.

Kagome looked at me. "And why wasn't _I_ informed? Hm?"

"Umm….Can I use one of my lifelines?" I asked, backing up as she advanced onto me.

"No!" She began to chase me around the room. "I told you to stop keeping secrets!"

I jumped over a guitar case and dodged an unidentified flying book.

"Children!" Koga scolded in a motherly tone. Kagome and I skidded to a halt. "What have I told you about running in my room? Now, get your asses back to your place. We're playing another song."

I walked over to my guitar and picked it back up. Koga walked over to Rin and stopped her from putting back on _her_ guitar, which had been set down sometime when Kagome and I were running around.

"Hang on a moment. Do you think you can sing this?" Koga asked.

Rin frowned and reached for the music. Her eyebrows shot up as she scanned the page.

"Hey, there's hardly any guitar in this piece, only piano and vocals!" Rin exclaimed. At Koga's raised eyebrow, she blushed. "Oh! You want me to _sing_ it!"

Koga cleared his throat. "Kikyo was doing the solo, but it's too high for her." Kikyo folded her arms and glared at her boyfriend.

"Alright." She picked up her guitar and began to put it away.

A few minutes later, Kikyo was finishing a final sound check. We were almost ready to begin.

"Okay! Done and done!" Kikyo jumped off the platform and shuffled over to Kagome.

"Now remember—," I began again.

"I know, I know," Rin said, exasperated. "Sango plays eight beats, than I come in. You've told me a thousand times! I think I can remember something as simple as _that_."

I received a scowl, before Kagome gave the signal for Sango to begin.

Sango began, and I was increasingly nervous that Rin would miss her entrance. It would have been a perfect opportunity for her to ruin the mood that was already set only after four beats of the song. I jumped out of my thoughts when Rin began to sing.

It was like listening to an angel. She held all of the emotion that Kikyo had had, with the range of Sango. The piano melded perfectly with her voice. I looked to Koga, who was also in awe. Miroku was falling asleep. He just didn't appreciate a good voice. To him, it was slow and boring.

Rin gradually raised her voice as she became more confident. She repeated the chorus with more vigor than before. Koga, Miroku and I got ready for our cue. Rin sang the end of the chorus, and Kagome and Kikyo's tech skills were used to prolong that last note. I thought Rin would become surprised and ruin the moment, but she seemed oblivious to all but the music.

We waited just before Rin began the chorus again before joining her. Sango cut off her part, and Rin continued to shine.

When she was about to sing the final line, Miroku and Koga cut their ending and I let my guitar ring. Sango started up again.

On the three last words, Rin softened to a mere whisper. She hung her head while Sango played for a stretch longer. Then she, too, cut her instrument.

Nobody moved. The air had a feel of glass to it; any movement might break it.

It finally got to much for me, and I set down my guitar. I whistled. "Damn, Rin. Who knew you could sing like that?" I looked at Miroku for evidence of another secret, but he was just as surprised as the rest of us.

"Rin?" Sango asked, when she noticed Rin was shaking.

Kagome and Kikyo walked up to her, and then stepped back. "What's wrong?" Kikyo asked her gently.

"Nothing," Rin said with a sniff. It surprised me, and probably everyone else, too, when a teak leaked from the corner of her eyes to run down her face. She licked the corner of her mouth when the offending tear reached the corner of her mouth.

"You know we never believe anyone who says 'Nothing,' dear." Sango left her piano and walked over to her as the rest of us gathered around.

"Fine," Rin said with a sad smile. "I was remembering my parent."

"Miroku's look told us he had never heard this before. We all listened intently.

"They were out to see a movie when the car hit an icy patch and the car flipped." She wiped away more tears, before continuing. "I was told that they were impaled and died almost immediately. They wouldn't let me see them, and the caskets were closed at the burial."

"You know," I began, the mood catching me, too. "My mother died when I was younger."

"What happened?"

"She was murdered." Everyone gasped. I never liked to talk about my painful past, and Kagome had only known that I had no mother. "I came home one night from a party when I was seven. She-," I took a deep breath. "She had been stabbed five times and raped by a lunatic. By the time they found the rapist, he had already died from a drug overdose." I took a shaky breath, pain, anger and sorrow welling up in my chest.

"My dad died from leukemia when I was three," Kagome stated. Another round of gasps went around as she said this. Of course I knew, but I was surprised she would say this. I had to coax it out of her when we were first dating, and even then, it took forever for her to say it. It then hit me on how little I knew about my friends' pasts.

"I was abandoned and raised in the monastery where I live," Miroku said. "I've been taking care of another boy, Shippo, who was orphaned at birth. You know, talking, feeding, playing…" he trailed. "Shippo used to believe that the monks hated him because they had taken a vow of silence." Miroku let out a shaky laugh that died quickly in the gloomy mood. "He really believed it was him that caused the monks to not talk."

"Mine were killed in an armed robbery," Kikyo added. "They were withdrawing money so they could take me out to eat for my birthday." Koga put an arm around Kikyo's shoulder.

"My mother left after I was born, leaving me with my father." Koga sighed. "My father left soon after my fourth birthday."

"M-my brother…" Sango paused and drew a calming breath. I could see she was trying her hardest not to cry in front of us. "My brother and I were very close. One time…one time he caught our dad beating on our mom. He lost it and…" She whined before continuing. "He killed our parents, then himself!" She blurted all at once. It sounded, to me, like she was on the verge of hysterics. Miroku allowed her to cry on his chest, his hand holding her and rubbing her back. For once, maybe because it was such a serious moment, his hand stayed above the equator. Rin, Kikyo and Kagome shifted so that Sango was now in the middle and everyone else was circled around her. She broke into hysterics, and the girls began making sympathetic noises while Koga and I shifted uncertainly. Miroku was still holding her, but she had turned into his arms so she could lean against him and place her head under his chin. I knew that was her favorite pose, so I could bet my guitar that it was doing a great deal to comfort her.

Koga, when Kikyo started to cry and become affected by Sango's depressed state, walked up behind his girl and gripped her shoulders. She leaned into his touch, and allowed the tears to fall. When Kagome started to cry, I walked up behind her and put my arms around her waist, my face burying itself into her raven-colored hair.

"Th-thank you," Sango chocked some time later. She began to hiccup, trying to calm down as much as she could.

"Of all of us, You've been through the most." Miroku kissed her neck.

"What about Inuyasha? Kikyo? Rin?" She looked at us.

"My mother wasn't murdered by someone she knew. Even if she was raped," I told her. It hurt me to see a friend like this.

"My parents never really seemed to care about me. It was just nice to know I had family." Rin hugged herself.

Kikyo made a tsk-ing noise. "Rin, I'll be your sister."

Rin's face filled with hope. "Really?"

"Yes."

"I'll be your sister, too." Kagome smiled encouragingly.

"Me too." Sango seemed to have cheered up so much in just these few minutes.

"I guess I'll be your brother," Miroku drawled, causing Sango to hit him lightly on the hand.

"Me too." Koga and Kikyo started to play with each other's hands, making for a very fun show to watch.

Everyone looked at me. "What? Who am I to turn down family?"

Everyone smiled, and it spread to me. We stood there, all of us in a circle, happy to have a family again.

Suddenly, Sango began to laugh.

"What is it?" I heard Kagome ask.

"It's just," Sango said between laughter, "it must look really odd. Seven teens, all standing in a silent circle, doing nothing." I had no idea what she was talking about, but she obviously found it funny. She began to laugh, and soon, we all caught the bug.

When we calmed down, Rin asked Koga a question.

"Hey, if you were abandoned when you were younger, how come you have a mother upstairs?" Rin asked from the place where she had fallen from laughing.

Kagome snuggled closer to me, where we had claimed the floor. Across the room, Sango was sitting with Miroku, her head on his shoulder and falling asleep. Koga and Kikyo had migrated to the stage. Kikyo had her head resting on Koga's chest, and I think she had fallen asleep.

"Adopted. My real birth name is Koga Richardson. My name changed to Wolf when I moved with my mom."

I snickered quietly. Richardson was as bad a name for Koga as chocolate was for dogs.

"Oh." Rin yawned.

We all began to relax, and soon we were all caught up in the exciting pass time of slumber.

Kikyo POV

I could hear screams. I was four again, and the bank robbery was happening. I turned to my right, where my father should have been. Koga looked back at me, his eyes frantic. I looked around. Inuyasha, Miroku, Rin, Sango and Kagome surrounded me.

This wasn't how the dream went. I always knew what would happen, but could never do anything about it. Over and over I was forced to relive it, the most terrible moment of my life. But this wasn't how it went. My parents had been separated from me in the rush. Lost and confused, I wandered about. My parents caught sight of me on the other side of me and rushed to protect me.

"Kiki, get down!" Kiki was my parent's nickname for me.

Two shots echoed. My father reeled and fell. Another shot. My mother crumpled, still reaching for me.

This time was different. My friends vanished into the crowd. I was alone. I wandered about, calling for them.

"Kikyo!"

Koga burst through the terrified crowd, closely followed by Rin and the rest of the group. I tried to call out to them, warn them to stay back. Unfortunately, my voice was stuck. Kagome's shrill cry broke through my frozen thoughts.

"Kikyo! Do something! Move!"

I just couldn't do it. I watched, horrified, as a bullet flew towards Koga. It hit his shoulder and he spun, clutching his bleeding wound. Halfway around, another shot hit him. This time it was the center of his back. Koga tumbled forward. Sango and Kagome screamed, stopping by his body.

Inuyasha and Miroku tried to drag them to safety. Rin raced on, unhindered. A single shot rang through the air, and Rin fell, bleeding onto the crème marbled floor. I caught sight of her eyes, full of fear and accusation. The paralysis disappeared and I turned to gape at the person holding the fun. Instead of the robber with a mask, it was someone I knew. Someone I was still terrified of- Naraku.

Rin POV

It was cold. I squirmed into a tight ball, but it didn't help. Whatever I was sleeping on was hard. Giving up, I opened my eyes. I was in Koga's basement. Sitting up, I realized all the other girls were curled up against their boyfriends. No wonder I was cold, over here all alone.

Not that I had anyone to curl up _with_. Sighing, I looked over to Inuyasha and Kagome, who were intertwined not far from me. She was a heap of black- black hair, black clothes, all in a tight bundle surrounded by Inuyasha's pale arms. His silky hair made him look a lot like his brother, Sesshomaru. That's what Inuyasha had called him. How weird to have your brother as your teacher. And I had to kiss him! I didn't know which was worse; the fact that he was my friend's older brother or the fact that he was my teacher. _At least he was cute,_ I thought.

Still, I couldn't believe that I had to kiss him. It was all Miroku's fault!

I glanced at him and Sango. Unlike Inuyasha and Kagome, they were sprawled out everywhere. Miroku had his head cushioned by Sango's chest and one arm was flung between her legs. I had a hunch that when he woke up he would be graced with a black eye or worse. He had changed so much since I had known him.

The scrawny boy with a buzz cut and faded hand-me-downs was gone, replaced by this tall and lanky teenager with slightly long hair -although, compared to Inuyasha and Koga, it was quite short- several pierced places, and, most shocking for me, a style of clothes much like my own. I guessed that I had changed a great deal from then, too. I had gone from the daddy's-little-princess type to orphan and traded my sundress for spikes in just a year. Somehow, though, his life seemed to have changed for the better, while mine got worse. He had a group of amazing friends, a girlfriend, his music and was helping to raise another lonely soul. The only similarities were music and friends, friends I had only known for a day. I guess it was too late for—

Dear God! Late! What time was it?

I looked about frantically for a clock. There was one on the stereo over by Koga and Kikyo. I tried to be quiet as I picked my way past them, but Kikyo screamed something entirely unintelligible and started to thrash.

"Koga! Not Koga! Please, not him!" Kikyo whimpered and twisted in Koga's arms. Then she gasped and froze.

"Rin!" For a second I had thought she had woken up and seen me. Then I realized she was still asleep. It sounded like Kikyo was having a nightmare which included Koga and me. I hesitated, not sure whether to wake her up. Another moan persuaded me that to let her sleep was sheer torture. I shook her shoulder. She shifted restlessly and opened her eyes.

Kikyo POV

For just a moment, I was startled to see Rin. She had just been shot, after all. I knew that it was a dream, but it was still shocking to see her kneeling beside me. I took a shuddering breath.

"Wha-what time is it?" I asked. Rin craned her neck around to examine the clock.

"About one in the morning. He's gonna kill me." This remark would not have drawn so strong a reaction from me as it did, but my dream was still fresh and lingering.

"Who's going to kill you?"

"My uncle." Rin sighed, brushing her hair away from her face. "What were you dreaming of? You called Koga and then me. Are you okay?"

I sniffed, trying to figure out what I could say.

"It's nothing," I told her hesitantly. I expected her to frown or fuss.

Instead, she just smiled. "We all have things we don't want to talk about. Our pasts. Our families. Its just how we are." Rin shrugged.

"You aren't upset?" I asked.

"No, why should I be? You didn't quiz me this afternoon." It took me a second to realize what she was talking about. Then I remembered how she had cried on her arrival at Koga's.

Understandably, I was still curious. "Could you tell me? I won't tell the others if you don't want me to."

Biting her lip, Rin considered it. "Promise? I didn't want everyone to know, especially Miroku. He'd go nuts and probably do something stupid."

I nodded and she told me how she had hitched a ride and all that happened afterward. I winced, recalling Naraku's attack on me.

Rin didn't have a boyfriend to save her. In fact, she was the only one without one.

"We'll have to get you a guy."

Rin, when I said that, looked like a deer caught in some headlights. "Wh-what?"

I ignored her outburst and stuttering as I furrowed my brow. "He could take care of the ride problem, and would prevent you from doing stupid things if we got the right type."

Rin scowled. "I can take care of myself."

"You sure?"

"Okay, it was stupid," Rin conceded. "But you can't set me up with someone until _after_ I kiss Mr. Youkai. I don't think my potential boyfriend would like that."

I nodded. "We should wake the others. It's late."

It was her turn to nod. I elbowed Koga and she headed to Sango and Miroku.

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End Chapter

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Any Suggestions? Comments? Questions? 


	5. Chapter Five: Rainy Day Attack

A/N: This entire chapter was completely concocted by my friend. Thanks to her!

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**Koga POV**

I had remained still throughout Kikyo and Rin's conversation. My blood boiled at the thought that someone dared to touch Rin. I couldn't stand guys that treated girl's that way. Miroku had once been quite a girl chaser, but he ever since he and Sango had started dating he'd been more interested in chasing her.

Not that Sango seemed to mind. Inuyasha and Kagome had never been interested in anyone else, although plenty of girls were interested in Inuyasha. His bad attitude had attracted a lot of attention. Kagome had had her share of admirers, particularly Hojo and me. That was before Kikyo and I started going out.

**Flashback **  


Kagome was wandering by with her group of friends. The one, most likely her boyfriend, couldn't seem to keep his hands off her; he had an arm thrown around her waist and was whispering into her ear. The other boy was walking in front of them with two girls. One of them was Kikyo, the one who Naraku had been bothering. She was laughing and shrugging off the boy's arm when she caught sight of me. Quickly she excused herself from the group and the boy turned his attentions to the other girl.

"Miss Ki- I mean, Kikyo," I stumbled, blushing. She smiled, and my heart melted.

"How have you been healing?" I asked her gently. She looked down and shrugged.

I tilted up her head and looked into her eyes. "Quite well, I see. How'd you tell your friends?"

"Er, I told them I tripped and fell down a fight of stairs." Kikyo shrugged again. I felt the urge to pull her into my arms and hold her. She seemed so defenseless, yet I knew how strong she was from her struggle with Naraku. More than wanting to protect her, I wanted to comfort her, promise her he would never come back. If he hurt her again, I would kill him.

"Are you all right? You look upset," Kikyo said.

"I'm fine. You're the one who I should be asking. Has Naraku done anything to you since?"

"Sort of. He's been cursing at me, saying he's going to get at me and my 'damned tame wolf'. Was he talking about you?"

"Probably. My surname is wolf, so it would make sense. That's a first. Naraku saying something logical, even slightly intelligent."

Kikyo laughed.

"I can't even imagine you as tame, much less belonging to me."

I don't know what the hell possessed me, but I bent down to her ear so no one could listen in. "Can I kiss you?"

I heard a sharp intake of breath and prepared for a stinging slap.

Instead, she nodded and closed her eyes. I pressed my lips against hers, not wanting to push further for fear she'd think I was no better than Naraku. After a moment, Kikyo stepped back.

"Have you ever kissed before?" she asked me.

I shook my head, feeling ashamed.

"It's not hard. Don't feel too nervous and just do what feels natural." Kikyo looped an arm around the back of my neck, pulling me down in the process. My heart went faster and one of my hands found the small of her back. Our lips met and her tongue darted out to coax my mouth open. I did and she entered with a delighted mew.

Hesitantly, I slid my own tongue into her mouth.

Kikyo arched her back against me, forcing me deeper. I began to explore her mouth, and a little of her body, as I become used to this strangely comfortable position. It was several moments before I noticed the sound of laughter and applause.

Kikyo and I turned to face her entire group of friends.

Several others had stopped to stare. Too late I recalled that we were in the middle of a crowded hallway, meaning half of the school had watched our attempted make-out session.

Desperately, I turned to Kikyo, who took one look at my expression and burst into fits of giggles. Finally, I broke down and laughed along with everyone else. Kagome stopped laughing first.

"Is this how you got those injuries, Kikyo?" she asked breathlessly. Kikyo and I sobered quickly.

"No," she said.

"No? Not Koga, huh? Who else could have been kissing passionately in the halls, then?" teased the flirter. We both shifted uncomfortably. The other girl caught our tension and nervousness and changed the subject.

"You two had better start going out. You'll be the hot new gossip of the week if you don't. Not," she began to reassure me, flicking my ponytail, "that you aren't hot under normal circumstances."

"Sango!" Kikyo scolded. "If he's going to be my boyfriend, you can't flirt with him! Go seduce Miroku."

"Aw." Sango whined. "But he isn't _nearly_ as good a kisser!"

Miroku rapped her skull with his knuckles. "How do you know if you won't even let me get _near_ your lips!"

While they argued about ways to prove whether or not Miroku was a good kisser that did not involve actual contact, Inuyasha pulled me to the side. "This isn't a plan to get to Kagome, is it?"

I assured him by pointing out that I had just kissed a girl in the middle of the hall and I wasn't going to risk such embarrassment over a girl I didn't love. He seemed mollified. In fact, he slung an arm around my shoulders and towed me back to the group, grinning.

"You're one of the gang now, if you're dating Kikyo. I would, however, advise asking her properly. Girls are very particular about that kind of thing."

I nodded. Inuyasha shoved my between the shoulder blades and I suddenly found myself face to face with Kikyo.

"Er, Kikyo-" I noticed the others standing in a circle around us, listening intently. I brabbed her wrist and shoved through the barricade. "We are discussing this somewhere private," I said.

**End Flashback**

I had almost fallen asleep again, lost in my memories, when Kikyo shook my shoulder.

"Koga. Koga, it's nearly one thirty. Koga, wake up, lazy."

I rolled over groggily and stood. "What's going on?"

"You're mom never woke us up. It's really late and Rin needs to get home." Kikyo sighed at my blank look.

"It is one-thirty in the morning, Koga. We've been here all night. Rin lives with her uncle and he hasn't heard from her at all."

I looked at Rin, who was laughing as Sango yelled at Miroku –something about being a 'damned pervert'. From this I gathered he had done something outward while we all slept. I grinned, imagining the things my friend might have done. Then I recalled Rin's confession. Instantly I was burning with anger, but it was quite clear she wanted to handle it on her own, so I stayed silent.

"Couldn't we call him and ask if she could stay over?" I asked Kikyo.

She considered it.

"He may say no, but it's worth a shot. Rin! Come on! We're going to call your uncle."

Rin's eyes flickered with something –was it fear?- before nodding. Maybe I was imagining things.

Kikyo raced up the stairs; she was here so often that she knew where everything was. I followed her and behind me came Sango, still yelling at Miroku, who came after her while uttering protests. Kagome and Inuyasha trailed sleepily behind them, and Rin brought up the rear. We made a noisy procession, so it was no small wonder that my mother was up and sitting at the table. She looked like she hadn't yet been to sleep.

"Oh! You're up. I'm sorry I didn't wake you, but what with the storm you couldn't get home anyways." She said. I glanced out the window. It was raining torrents with bright flashes of lightening illuminating the street every so often.

"I hope the phone lines haven't gone out," I said.

"I'm afraid they did. I called your mother, Kagome. She says to stay here tonight. But I'm afraid I don't have your parents' number, Rin." Rin's face looked wooden.

"My parent's are dead. I live with my uncle."

My mother's eyes softened and she drew Rin into a hug. Rin did not hug her back, but she didn't pull away, either.

"Poor dear. I'm so sorry," my mother murmured softly. "I should've known Koga would pick up another orphan." She let go and Rin stepped back.

"I have to get home," Rin stated.

"Rin! It's pouring out there! The roads won't be safe!" Sango protested.

"No. He's gonna be furious as it is. I've got to get home. Will someone give me a ride?"

Rin turned in a circle to look at us all, but no one spoke up. She shrugged.

"Fine, I'll walk." She started down the stairs, but Miroku stopped her.

"I'll take you, provided Sango lets me borrow her bike."

Sango nodded. "Just don't crash it. You and Rin stranded in the rain at two in the morning is not a good picture."

Rin stared at him. "You have your license?" she demanded.

"No. Don't worry, I can drive. They took my license for speeding."

Rin blinked, shook her head and went to collect her stuff.

**Miroku POV**

It was cold and wet out there, making me thankful I hadn't let Rin walk. If she had, she would've caught pneumonia and died. That wasn't the only risk. There were street gangs out here at night. Some were from our school, like Naraku and his friends. If they caught her, a new girl, out alone at two in the morning, I hated to think what they'd do. After the hell they would put her through, death would feel like a wonderful relief. I wasn't going to attend her funeral so soon after our reunion.

Rin's arms tightened around my waist. I slowed down, thinking she was afraid we'd crash. Then I saw them.

_Damn_, I thought. I was hoping they might have gone home by now. It was Naraku's gang.

I could see him in the front, his long dark hair pouring out of his helmet. I sped up, hoping to outrun them. They, however, began to cut us off. I slowed to a stop, and got off the bike. Rin followed.

Naraku removed his helmet. Now I could see his pale face, eyes narrowed with malice. He leaned on his handlebars, giving the feel of a languid cat.

"Well, well. Miroku. One of Inuyasha's loyal followers. And who's this?"

Two of his thugs hauled Rin out from behind me. I tried to pull her back, but one of them hit me across the face. I stumbled backwards as they dragged her up to their leader. He considered her, eyes traveling up and down her body.

"You're a lovely one. Not a spot on Kikyo, but you'll do."

He gripped her chin, turning her head side to side.

Rin jerked her head away and nipped at his fingers. Her teeth clicked loudly as they missed. Naraku gave a bark of laughter.

"A lively one. My dear, I like a girl with spirit; particularly in bed. I think I will enjoy breaking you in. By the end, I believe you'll enjoy it as well."

Rin spat at him and growled "I'd rather make out with a _bear_! At least a bear has better hygiene!"

"Don't believe me? We will just have to find out. Climb on."

"Like hell I will!" Her growling continued.

Naraku nodded, and the two men holding her began to drag her forward.

"No!" I shouted, jumping forward.

Rin fought free of her captors. She swung her bag as more went after her, clipping one in the eye. He lunged after her and I tackled him from behind. We fell into a tangle and as I staggered up, I saw Rin kick one of them in the groin. He bent over in pain and she hit him over the head with her bag. He fell forward, unconscious.

The next few minutes were confused and blurred. There were only five of them, so while we were out numbered, we were still not too badly outmatched.

At some point I heard a motor start up and hoped it wasn't Naraku with Rin slung helplessly over his lap.

I was reassured when I saw her over by Sango's bike, struggling with a guy twice her size. He lifted her up like a rag doll, then dropped her as I began an assault on his leg. I ended up breaking it as I heard his knee-cap pop.

I caught her before she tumbled to the ground and placed her on the bike. As we rushed away, I looked back.

They weren't following, probably too busy licking their own wounds. A few blocks from her uncle's house I stopped to assess the damage we took.

Rin, who's hair was soaked, only had a split lip bleeding on her chin. I was no worse for the wear, except a few bruises. Our clothes hadn't come out as well.

The knees on my pants were ripped. Rin's sleeve and hood were torn, not to mention we were both drenched and cold to the bone. I sighed. Somehow I had my doubts that her uncle would appreciate her being returned in this condition. However, I didn't find out because Rin wouldn't let me inside when we got there.

"He's probably asleep. I'm just going to bed," she insisted. I wasn't sure, but Rin shook her head and shut the door. I shrugged and got back onto the motorcycle.

Rin could be so damned independent, but still, she made the perfect friend.

**Rin POV**

I sighed, leaning against the door. Did I really want to risk it? What if he was still awake? All the lights were out, but….

I shook myself mentally. He had probably been on a drinking binge and fell asleep without even noticing I was gone.

Quietly, I slipped into my room and flipped the light switch. My sidelight flipped on instead. My uncle stood there, silent and steady.

It was obvious from the bottle in his hand that he had been drinking. Unfortunately, he was perfectly aware of the time.

"You damn whore. I take you in and you come home at two fucking thirty in the morning. Where have you been? Out screwing people? Is that the thanks I get, you ungrateful bitch? Well, you can pay for it in blood."

He drew a knife and I shook off my previous paralysis.

"I won't even kill you," he continued, advancing as I slowly backed up. "I'll just give you a lot of pain."

I stared at him. Never had I seen him this intoxicated. When I didn't move, he slapped me. I fell onto the floor.

He advanced further, towering over me. Desperately, I scrambled backwards. My hand found the doorknob even as my back hit the wall and I pulled myself upright. The door slammed shut as I did so.

I held the door closed, and my uncle tried to pry it open. Losing my grip, I ran to the door before he could stop me.

_The school directory, _my mind thought. I scrambled to pick it up as I fled the house. _I can call Koga._

I quickly scratched that thought as I realized how far he lived away. He would never find me in time. It was too far to walk alone; I didn't want to think of what that gang would do if they found me out here.

_Where else can I go, though?_ I thought through a fear-clouded mind.

I kept running, my fear driving me to near exhaustion. I ran for what seemed like forever.

Finally, tiring, I slumped to the ground. I wasn't sure if the water on my face was the still pouring rain or my own tears.

_I'll never make it to Koga's now, I'm too far away, _I thought with despair. _I should've stayed there._

The only thing I figured I could do was call one of the teachers, but I had neither a phone nor any change to use one. I would have to walk to one of their houses, whichever happened to be the closest, and beg for help.

This plan didn't appeal to me at all, but my options were slim. I scanned the contact page in the directory and found the closest address. I staggered to my feet, my body screaming. It was a long way away.

I started to cough violently, and halfway to the place I was shivering uncontrollably. At last I stumbled up the steps of the house and rang the bell.

To my utter surprise, out of all the houses to pick, I had picked Sesshomaru's house.

Sesshomaru –Mr. Youkai- answered the door, his shirt buttons undone. For a moment we just stared at each other, then darkness claimed me and I slumped forward.

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End Chapter

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Any comments? Suggestions? Comments? 


	6. A Belated Note

A/N: . . . . --'

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Rin walks out, her gothic outfit making a lot of noise as she walks to the middle of Sesshoumaru's house. She stands there, clears her throat, then begins to speak.

"Hey readers!" She waves happily. "I'm here with a message from Kittey Rin. She wishes to express her extreme apologies at not only stopping the story, not only putting it on (sort of) perminant hiatus without warning, but also leaving most of you with a cliffhanger. That was evil, wasn't it?" she smiles mischeiviously.

"However, I'm here with some news. Shortly after re-writing the last chapter of the story, what has been dubbed amongst friends "The Purple Binder Story" since it resides in a purple binder, was put on the shelf and forgotten for some time. However, last week, whilest at a birthday party with a co-writer, Kittey Rin and the gang decided that maybe, just maybe, they should try to finish the story."

Rin spreads her hands out wide and shrugs. "However much she writes, however, she'll only type the story and post it if people would like to know the ending. However, for that, she needs messages, emails, or reviews from people. So, here's me asking on behalf of the evil author on whether or not you would like to know the conclusion to Live and Love. Well?"

The lights dim dramatically, causing near blackness, as Rin exits slowly off 'stage'.


End file.
